Noise making shoe attachment



New. 25, 3959 A. 1.. WADE 3,479,753

NOISE MAKING SHOE ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 28v 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

IFJVEANTOR.

Amman L Wade ATTORNEY OI .nlli

NOV. 25, WADE NOISE MAKING SHOE ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 28, 1969 FIG. 6

FIG. 5

IN VEN TOR. Ammon L, Wade ATTORNEY United States Patent Oflfice 3,479,753 Patented Nov. 25, 1969 ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The childs shoe attachment incorporates a hollow can, a foot-rest on top of the can which the child can secure to the bottom of its shoe, and a pivoted ground engaging member which claps against the bottom of the can as the child walks to produce a noise.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to attachments for shoes and particularly to devices intended to produce noise during walking.

Description of the prior art Patent 2,739,394 teaches a rearwardly mounted clapping member attached directly to the shoe for producing a noise. Another type of noise making shoe attachment is taught by Patent 2,413,545 Which involves a collapsible chamber and a whistle operated by air from the chamber. A further type of noise toy is taught by Patent 1,962,948 in which a clapboard is rearwardly mounted and claps directly against a plate member secured to the shoe. A further shoe attached noise making toy is to be found in Patent 2,644,248 in which a rearwardly pivoted clapping member claps against a horse shaped hollow block in which the child places his shoe. From the foregoing it can be seen that none of the prior art teaches the concept of using a metal can as a sound chamber and as a means of elevating the child to give the child a sense of height and with this employing a forwardly hinged clap member on the bottom of the can which makes a clapping noise that is amplified by the can during walking.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A noise making attachment according to the invention incorporates a metal can clamped between an upper plate member which serves as a shoe support and a lower plate member oppositely disposed from the upper plate member. Beneath the lower plate member and hinged to its forward end there is a further clamping plate member which has a limited pivotal motion. A pair of such noise making attachments can be secured to the childs shoe either by straps which loop across the childs shoes or by elongated straps which the child holds tightly to keep the shoe attachments in place. During walking the clap member tends to drop by its own weight as the shoe attachment is lifted and as the shoe attachment is brought back down against the ground the clap member creates a sharp clap against the lower plate member and thi clap is in turn amplified by the can. Since children have long enjoyed the practice of elevating themselves by walking on tin cans the present invention gives them both this sensation of height and the additional attraction of having a clapping noise that coincides with their walk.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a noise making attachment for a shoe according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a rear view of the attachment shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a front view of the attachment shown in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a section view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective view showing a pair of the shoe attachments in use.

FIGURE 6 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of shorter height and adapted to be strapped to the childs shoe.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGURES 1 through 5 and the first embodiment of the invention a metal can 10 is clamped between an upper shoe support 11 and a lower oppositely disposed plate member 12 by means of a bolt 13 which extends centrally of can 10 with the head of the bolt 15 being countersunk in lower plate 12 and the nut 14 being countersunk in upper shoe support 11. Lower plate member 12 is generally of the same shape as the upper shoe support or plate member 11 and the shape and area generally correspond to those of a childs shoe. Immediately beneath lower plate member 12 there is pivotally mounted a clapping plate member which is hinged to the front of lower plate member 12 by means of a flexible strap 21 or the like. In order to limit the downward travel of the rearward end of clapping member 20 a slotted strap 22 is secured to clapping member 20 and a nail 23 which is mounted in lower plate member 12 rides in the slot 24 and thus limits travel when the end of slot 24 strikes nail 23.

A rope or the like loops through the metal can 10 and as shown in FIGURE 5 provides means whereby a child can hold a pair of the noise making shoe attachments against the childs shoe during walking. As the child walks and as the respective shoe attachments are lifted in turn, the respective clapping members 20 will pivot downwardly and as the child lowers the respective shoe against the ground the clapping member 20 will sharply strike the lower plate member 12 and thereby create a sound which is amplified by the can 10. It has been found that a different noise and what is apparently a louder noise is created when holes are formed in the side of can 10 and an additional hole 36 is formed in the lower plate member 12. Since the clap member 20 is pivoted at its forward end it does tend to catch rocks and the like as is likely to happen with the prior art rearwardly mounted clapping devices.

As previously mentioned use of a substantially tall can 10, e.g., in the order of 4 to 5 inches in height, will give the child a sensation of height while the child is walking and creating noise with the shoe attachments. In some instances it may be more desirable to use a shorter can and in this instance it is preferred that the noise making attachment be strapped to the shoe by appropriate straps 40 which like ordinary skate straps are designed to loop around the ankle and toe portion of the childs shoe. In this instance the can indicated in FIGURE 6 by 10 is preferably of less height, e.g., in the order of 2 inches so as to minimize the chance of injury in the event of fall. Nevertheless, even this amount of can height gives the child a noticeable sense of elevation and simultaneously, the excitement of the amplified clapping noise.

Having described the invention what is claimed is:

1. A noise making shoe attachment comprising:

(a) a hollow can having open upper and lower ends;

(b) an upper plate member secured to said can upper end and providing a support surface adapted to receive a wearers shoe thereon;

3 4 (c) attaching means for holding said upper platform 3. A noise making shoe attachment as claimed in claim member against the wearers shoe; 1 including a strap secured thereto and arranged for (d) a lower plate member disposed parallel to said holding said upper plate member in engagement with the upper plate member and secured to and covering shoe of the wearer thereof. said can lower end, said plate members and can 5 4. Anoise making shoe attachment as claimed in claim providing a sound chamber; and 1 wherein said can is metal. a (e) a ground engaging plate positioned below said lower plate member and having its forward end References Cited pivotally connected to the forward end of said lower plate member, said ground plate being adapted under 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS the natural stepping motion of the wearer to periodi- 1,545,437 7/1925 Malone et al. 367.8 cally clap against said lower plate member and there- 2,644,248 7/ 1953 Seligman 367.8 X by produce sounds amplified by said chamber. 3,038,264 6/1962 Bussinger 367.5

2. A noise making shoe attachment as claimed in claim 1 including strap means for securing said upper 15 PATRICK D. LAWSON, Primary Examiner plate member to the shoe of the wearer thereof. 

